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Write Release Notes

Generate a user-facing release note for a GitHub version tag from its linked PRs

Stars
7,638
Licence
Apache-2.0
Files
3 files

What it does

When you ask the agent for release notes for a version, it uses the GitHub CLI to pull that release's details and the pull requests linked in its description. It then groups the changes into features, fixes, performance, refactors and maintenance, and writes a short, upbeat Markdown release note in a fixed structure. It also checks that the result is under 2000 characters and trims it if not.

Great for

  • Maintainers of a GitHub project who publish a release and want a first draft of its notes
  • Teams whose release descriptions link PRs and who want those PRs turned into readable prose

Skip it if

  • Repositories without GitHub releases or linked PR numbers, since the script finds little or nothing to work with (the skill then falls back to commit messages only in a manual command)
  • Anyone needing exact, reviewed changelogs for compliance, since the output is an AI synthesis that can overstate or misstate changes and should be checked before publishing

Try asking

  • “Write release notes for v1.32.0”
  • “Generate release notes for the latest release”
  • “Create a changelog for v2.0 in the chat”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Write Release NotesInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 3 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.

    write-release-notes.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip write-release-notes.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip write-release-notes.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Pass the owner/repo explicitly as a second argument so the script does not depend on the current directory's git remote.
  • Review the draft against the actual PRs, since the skill tells the agent to rephrase titles and infer content from them.
  • Note that the skill's built-in contributor list and tone rules are specific to the Forge project; edit SKILL.md before reusing it elsewhere.

What's inside

  • scripts/fetch-release-data.sh
  • scripts/validate-release-notes.sh
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from tailcallhq/forgecode under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.